Tuesday, October 31, 2017

Classic work from Ruby Turner – a UK soul singer, but one
who was part of a new generation that hardly had to answer at all to her
contemporaries on the other side of the Atlantic! The tracks here have a
modern, midtempo groove that's right up there with the best US mainstream soul
of the period – and Turner's voice, honed by years of work with others, really
soars out right from the start – with a richness that really keeps these songs
fresh, even past some of the production styles of the time! Ruby sings here as
if she's working for Atlantic Records at the end of the 60s, and not Jive
Records in the 80s – and she brings a proud, full sound to her vocals that
holds up wonderfully over the years. The set's a really well-chosen batch of
tracks – 32 numbers that show Turner at her best, including duets woth Jimmy
Ruffin and Jonathan Butler – with titles that include "I'm Livin A Life Of
Love", "Hurting Inside", "If You're Ready Come With
Me", "I'm In Love", "I'd Rather Go Blind", "It's
My Life (ext version)", "Step In My Shoes", "Still Waters
Run Deep", "What Becomes Of The Brokenhearted", "Just My
Imagination", "It's Gonna Be Alright", "Paradise (radio
edit)", "Everytime I Breathe", "It's Gonna Be Alright
(Brixton bass mix)", "It's You My Heart Beats For", "Merry
Go Round", and "Provoking".
~ Dusty Groove

SOWECO – KEEP ON

Soweco is just a trio, but one that comes across with the
fullness of a classic combo from years back – particularly the sorts of
blue-eyed soul groups from the end of the 70s! Singer Fredric Frosche Renmark
has a great range, and this warmly gliding style to his vocals – which are set
up over jazzy keyboards by Mattias Roos and drums from Peter Gustafsson –
augmented by other touches in the studio, but also as lean as the lineup might
imply! This isn't a contemporary beats and keys project – and instead, the
whole thing's got a charm that goes back to the old school. The album's issued
on the same label as work by guitarist U-Nam – who guests here on two tracks –
and there's definitely the same blend of jazz, soul, and funk going on in the
music. Titles include "Keep On", "Forget For A Moment",
"Lucky Charm", "Way Up High", "Let The Rain Fall
Down", "Your Love", and "By The Sea". ~ Dusty Groove

LA BAND DEL BRASILIANO VOL. 2

A contemporary record, but one that's got a very vintage
vibe – served up by a young Italian combo whose style hearkens back to the
grooviest styles of the 60s! Most of the tunes are romping, jerking, and
jumping – that mod 60s blend of soul, rock, and jazz elements that flourished
strongly on the Euro scene – and which built a very hip bridge between American
styles and the newly emerging hipster scene overseas! Vocals are by both female
and male singers – sometimes alone, sometimes together – and the
instrumentation is heavy on Hammond, guitar, and saxes – on titles that include
"92 Minuto", "La Verita", "Impossibile",
"Hey Ragazzo", "Un'Ora In Piu", "Eclisse Twist",
and "Preparati Bambina". ~ Dusty Groove

Back in
1992, veteran drummer-composer Jerry Granelli went to studios in Seattle and
San Francisco with an all-star cast, including trombonist Julian Priester, alto
sax great Kenny Garrett, bassist Anthony Cox and guitarists Bill Frisell and
Robben Ford, to record a set of blues-based tunes that resonated with his
youth. The resulting album, A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing, inspired by
Michael Ondaatje's haunting novel "Coming Through Slaughter" about
the life of the legendary New Orleans cornetist Buddy Bolden, includes
blues-tinged nuggets as Johnny Hodges' "Wanderlust," Charlie Parker's
"Billie's Bounce," Ornette Coleman's "Blues Connotation"
and Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You."

Twenty-five
years later, Granelli returned to the studio with the same producer from that
landmark session, Lee Townsend, along with the same guitar tandem of Frisell
and Ford for another blues-soaked outing. Inspired by his upbringing as an
aspiring musician in San Francisco, Dance Hall, is at once a joyful reunion and
a fond salute to his own youth. "This is the bookend," said the
revered, 76-year-old drummer from his home base in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
"When I told Bill and Robben I wanted to make another blues record, they
both said, 'I'm in.' It took about a year to get everybody in the same place,
but it was a great session. This record really meant a lot to me. There's magic
on these tracks."

Granelli's
20th album as a leader has him tackling hit singles from yesteryear, including
The Platters' "The Great Pretender," Dinah Washington's mournful
"This Bitter Earth," Fats Domino's "Ain't That a Shame" and
Louis Jordan's "Caldonia." He also tips his cap to Max Roach on a dramatic
reading of "Driva Man" (from 1964's pivotal protest record We Insist!
Freedom Now Suite featuring singer Abbey Lincoln) and to Charles Mingus on a
straight shuffle version of "Boogie Stop Shuffle." An earthy reading
of "Meet Me in the Morning" represents one of the artists Granelli
knew from the early days of the Fillmore West in San Francisco, Bob Dylan. The
drummer explains that his laid back, behind-the-beat groove on this Dylan tune
was more inspired by a funkier version by Texas bluesman Freddie King from his
1975 album Larger Than Life. Aretha Franklin is also represented here with a
newer tune, the gospel-tinged "Never Gonna Break My Faith" (from the
2006 movie Bobby about the death of Bobby Kennedy). "I heard that song on
a plane and I just felt, 'That's the time we're in, that's what we gotta do
now," Granelli maintains. "We gotta stand and not let these
motherfuckers break our faith.'"

When
Granelli and producer Townsend began talking about the project, Granelli stated
he wanted the album to be "personal." Townsend replied, "That's
it, find it from there." This is how Granelli was able to develop personal
connections to each of the songs. "'Ain't That a Shame' has a story behind
it. I was in high school and had just met the woman who would become my first
wife. I just fell in love, walked around the corner to a record store and I
remember that song was playing. I was not yet 20 when I first heard Dinah
Washington single, 'This Bitter Earth.' After that I would sit in this bar
every day, drinking gin and tonics, trying to feel melancholy and capture the
sadness of that profound song. It's so gorgeous. Louis Jordan is someone I grew
up listening to and his 'Caldonia' in particular is how I learned to play
quarter note triplets on the drums. So I had all of those songs memorized as a
kid, and every one of them meant something real to me. And as far as 'The Great
Pretender,' I toured with The Platters when that song was popular, so I must've
played it hundreds of times."

The core
quartet - Granelli on drums, Frisell and
Ford on guitars and Granelli's son J. Anthony Granelli on bass - puts its stamp
on "Boogie Stop Shuffle," "Driva Man," "This Bitter
Earth" and "Never Gonna Break My Faith." A punchy three-piece
horn section, arranged by Steve Bernstein of Millenial Territory Orchestra and
Hot 9 fame, are augmented on four other tunes - "Meet Me in the Morning,"
"The Great Pretender," "Ain't That a Shame" and
"Caldonia." Granelli, who has cultivated a two-guitar sound in his
previous bands V-16 and UFB, says he fell in love 20 years ago with that
combination from the Frisell-Ford hookup he heard on A Song I Heard Buddy Sing.
"I just always loved that sound, where it's like two guitars meshing into
one big guitar to the point where you can't tell who's playing what."

For the
drummer and educator, who is approaching 77 in December, Dance Hall represents
a return to the fundamental desire to play the blues. "I've gone through a
lot of phases in my career, starting out playing straight ahead in piano trios
led by Vince Guaraldi and Denny Zeitlin, then playing that right-in-the-pocket
Mississippi-Louisiana thing with Mose Allison in the '70s. I've gone through
the 'out' stuff with free jazz and all that. But the beauty of playing this
instrument, the drums, is playing time for people who can just do it and use
it. And these guys really know how to use it.

"Everybody
did this session as a labor of love all the way down the line," he added.
"There was a lot of laughing, a lot of joy at the sessions. It was a real
love fest. And to me, personally, it just feels like artistic freedom has
finally been reached with this recording, where you can actually do what it is
that you love. For me, it feels like a pretty outrageous record to make at this
point in my life. Just to play the drums that way...that's what I grew up in. I
can't wait to get on the road and play this music and see what happens. That's
the next step."

Monday, October 30, 2017

Bootsy Collins has always been a very collaborative artist –
from his early work in the James Brown Band, to his famous recordings with
George Clinton, to his own albums – which often included most of the leading
lights of the P-Funk universe! That collaborative spirit is alive and well here
– as Bootsy opens the door to invite a huge host of guests from the worlds of
funk, soul, and hip hop – all to augment his groove, and help his classic music
find a way to live anew in the contemporary generation! Nearly every track here
has at least one guest – most have many more – and the album features
contributions from Musique Soulchild, Doug E Fresh, Big Daddy Kane, Stanley
Clarke, Victor Wooten, Dru Down, Mc Eiht, Bernie Worrell, Chuck D, Buckheat,
and many others – all of whom participate in the general party vibe of the set.
Titles include "Pusherman", "Thera-P", "World Wide
Funk", "Candy Coated Lover", "A Salute To Bernie", "Hi
On Heels", "Snow Bunny", "Worth My Wile", and "Come
Back Bootsy". ~ Dusty Groove

WILLIE JONES III – MY POINT IS...

Over the years, the name of Willie Jones III has really
become one that makes us want to stop and check out a record – and this time
around, not only does the set feature Jones' name on the front – but the
quintet also includes great performances from Ralph Moore on tenor, Eddie
Henderson on trumpet, Eric Reed on piano, and Buster Williams on bass! With a
lineup like that, Reed just can't miss – and the record takes us back to the
kind of instant classics we were hearing from Henderson, Moore, and Reed twenty
years back – but given that sort of special vision that makes Willie both a
great drummer and leader, one who's evolving into a one-man powerhouse of jazz
– given that he also produces and releases his records himself. And yet there's
nothing smalltime about this set – especially with Henderson and Moore in the
lead, the latter of whom is always a treat to our ears. Titles include
"Manhattan Melodies", "My Point Is", "The Wind Of An
Immortal Soul", "The Maze", "Blues For Dat Taz", and
"Early Morning". ~ Dusty
Groove

JAMES BLOOD ULMER "THE THING" - BABY TALK: LIVE AT MOLDE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL 2015

Over the years, the mighty Thing trio has turned out to be a
wonderfully collaborative group – and here they join forces with legendary
guitarist James Blood Ulmer, who may well be serving up one of his best
performances in years! The unbridled energy of the core group is well-known –
drums from Paal Nilssen-Love, bass from Ingebrigt Haker Flaten, and baritone
and tenor from Mats Gustafsson – who's pictured perfectly on the cover, caught
in the moment of one of his joyous expressions! Ulmer's of an earlier
generation than the musicians, but fits in well – and they, in turn, know when
to back off a bit and allow his complicated flurries of tones to get just the
right sort of space in the spotlight. Titles include "Baby Talk",
"High Yellow", "Proof", and "Interview". ~ Dusty Groove

"Musicians as diversely gifted as Carmen Lundy, who has
excelled as a vocalist, composer, lyricist, arranger, guitarist and keyboardist
for more than three decades, remain far and few between." - Jazz Times

Los Angeles, California. On the heels of her celebrated CD
"CODE NOIR"released earlier this year, Jazz vocalist Carmen Lundy has
announced additional tour dates to take place this Fall and Winter. With stops
in New York City November 11th (a live PBS special taping, The Historymakers
Honor Franklin Thomas), a four night run at The Jazz Showcase in Chicago
November 30th-December 3rd, December 9th at Scullers in Boston and South Jazz
in Philadelphia on December 16th and 17th, Lundy will close out 2017 on a high
note following rave reviews of the album and her accompanying live
performances. Also slated for February is a date at the Fairchild Tropical
Botanic Garden on Valentine's Day 2018 and a featured spot at the Mid-Atlantic
Jazz Festival in Baltimore on February 18th.

Never one to limit her creative journeys, Lundy explores the
realms of Jazz, Blues, Brazilian Samba and Pop on CODE NOIR with a multitude of
messages that reflect not only the complexities of her own mindset, but the
disparity of the world at large. Poignant, heartfelt, angry, joyous, shocked,
and saddened are just a few of the emotions conveyed by this wonderfully
evocative singer on CODE NOIR via this highly personal musical voyage.

"These songs encompass the musical and artistic
influences from the African diaspora and its influence on jazz and other
musical genres – the bossa nova, the blues, swing, funk, the exploration into
the avant-garde," says Carmen. "Yet they also encompass the many
emotions that are currently prevalent in this country. We are going through
tough times with a country that is sorely divided and many of these tracks
reflect the feelings that we as human beings are going through on an individual
level. CODE NOIR actually refers to the first law ever written by a person in
power of a sovereign nation/empire - the King of France Louis XIV - the first
law to disallow and make illegal the integration of the African race into white
European society.

Lundy either wrote or co-wrote all twelve tracks on the
record which features Patrice Rushen on piano, Ben Williams on bass, Jeff
Parker on electric guitar, Kendrick Scott on drums and percussion and Elisabeth
Oei on background vocals. In addition to vocals, Lundy also plays keyboards and
guitar.

With a total of 40 Pop chart hits, Dionne Warwick’s
recordings for the Scepter label rank as arguably the most successful run of
any artist—and certainly of any female artist—for an independent label during
the 1960s. But all that success had a downside for her considerable legacy:
Scepter became a hot property for acquisition, and as a result the label’s
holdings were bought and sold several times before Dionne herself arranged to
buy her own masters back. By that time, though, the Scepter tapes had been
scattered in disarray, thus leaving a lot of material in limbo and causing
compilers to throw up their hands.

Well, where other reissue labels fear to
tread Real Gone Music goes full speed ahead! Odds & Ends—Scepter Records
Rarities offers 26 hard-to-find tracks (plus some bonus promo spots) from the
Scepter vaults, including rare alternate versions (of hits like “Don’t Make Me
Over,” “I Say a Little Prayer,” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose”), stereo
singles (“He’s Moving On;” “Amanda”), foreign language singles (“A House Is Not
a Home” in Italian and French; “Walk On By” in German and Italian), stereo
mixes (of “Get Rid of Him” and “Silent Voices”), and just plain lost tracks
(like “Our Ages or Our Hearts” and “Monday, Monday”).

Many of the selections
are previously unissued and most are making their CD debut. What’s more, this
one’s released with the full cooperation of the legendary lady, Dionne herself,
who sat down for an interview with liner note writer Joe Marchese, and includes
rare photos. Remastered by Ted Carfrae, Odds & Ends—Scepter Records
Rarities is a stone solid must for any Dionne fan, and of course any
Bacharach-David fan as well…this is some of the greatest—and rarest—vocal pop
music of the ‘60s!

Being considered in four
preliminary Grammy categories for her debut album, “Conversations,” in her
first year as a NARAS voter provided smooth soul singer-songwriter Selina
Albright an entirely new perspective about what her father, contemporary jazz
saxophone giant and eight-time Grammy nominee Gerald Albright, experienced
while she was growing up.

“When I was little and my dad would tell me that he was up
for a Grammy, I didn’t realize how life-changing the process of getting on that
final ballot must have been for him - the hundreds of tracks he must’ve been
introduced to, the wonderful people he must’ve met, how big and multi-faceted
the world of music must’ve seemed by the time he’d finished voting, and how
much it must have meant to him to be nominated out of the multitudes. Now, I’m
beginning to understand the magnitude of the honor and responsibility of being
a voting member, which I take seriously,” reflected Albright about her father
who makes a guest appearance playing flute on “Conversations.”

Albright is a Best New Artist candidate in the midst of a
breakthrough year that began with the release of the album’s attention-grabbing
first single, “Eat Something,” a joyous affirmation of self-love and acceptance
while in a romantic relationship with lyrics that make it okay to pack on some
extra weight. Like the nine originals she penned for the collection, the Best
R&B Song contender is inspired by intimate conversations she’s had with
family, friends and loved ones. The track is receiving airplay and has charted
at two different radio formats: urban adult contemporary and
smooth/contemporary jazz.

A few months after releasing “Conversations,” the Best
R&B Album aspirant issued “Possible” to radio, an empowering single on
which Albright unleashes the full power and magnitude of her impassioned
four-octave voice, delivering a worthy Best R&B Performance entrant.
“Conversations” is a deeply personal and revealing set that Albright describes
as a “therapeutic diary.” Chris “Big Dog” Davis, James “JRob” Roberson and
Albright produced the session that features performances by Gerald Albright,
Peter White, Kay-Ta Matsuno, Randy Ellis and David P. Stevens.

Throughout the year, Albright has supported “Conversations”
with concert dates across the country, selling out clubs and playing packed
theaters and festivals on shared bills, including shows with her father. She
was invited on a 24-city Christmas concert tour with smooth/contemporary jazz
royalty - Dave Koz, David Benoit, Rick Braun and White - that launches the day
after Thanksgiving. Albright hopes to receive an early Christmas gift when the
Grammy nominations are announced on November 28.

“The honor of having my own music on the preliminary ballot
is so beautiful to me. I can’t even put into words the honor I’d feel to
actually get a Grammy nomination. I can’t wait to see where this journey takes
me!”

As a follow-up to his most
personal project to date, 2015's KOI, in-demand Italian session bassist and
RareNoise recording artist Lorenzo Feliciati has upped the ante on his latest
project, Elevator Man. A powerhouse recording with echoes of King Crimson,
Allan Holdsworth and other Prog Rock icons, this latest outing by the prolific
bassist-composer-arranger features a rotating cast of stellar musicians,
including King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto, former Holdsworth drummer Chad
Wackerman, Swedish Freak Guitar shredder Mattias IA Eklundh (of the Jonas
Hellborg Trio and Art Metal), Italian progressive metal guitarist Marco Sfogli
(currently of the legendary Italian Prog Rock band Premiata Forneria Marconi,
aka PFM), trumpeter Cuong Vu and Feliciati's Naked Truth bandmate Roy Powell on
distortion-laced clavinet. As well as composing and arranging all the material,
Feliciati plays fretted and fretless basses, electric guitar and keyboards on his
seventh and most potent recording as a leader to date "Elevator Man has a
different lineup on every song," explains Feliciati, a member of RareNoise
bands Naked Truth, Berserk!, Twinscapes and Mumpbeak. "It's the same 'one
song-one line up' philosophy that I used on Frequent Flyer, but this time all
the music for Elevator Man was composed at the same time, in a three-month
period. So I was probably able to concentrate more and think more deeply about
the direction of the album. And while a varied stylistic approach is something
I always try to achieve, this one has a more clear Prog Rock flavor that was a
planned decision. After KOI, I felt the need to move from the
soundtrack-ambient soundscapes attitude that is a crucial ingredient of both
KOI and Twinscapes, my duo project with bassist Colin Edwin of Porcupine Tree,
to a more songs-oriented project."

From the opening track, "Elevator Man," Feliciati
shifts to the dynamic "The Brick," "14 Stories opens with an
ambient, mysterioso vibe the top before the piece erupts into an orchestral
crescendo. The melancholy ballad "Black Book, Red Letter," also
highlights some lyrical trumpet playing and some impassioned soloing from the
alto saxophonist. The aggressive rocker "Three Women" has Feliciati
grooving on fretless bass while "Unchained Houdini" is a slamming jam
that pits Feliciati's bass, guitar and keys against some whirlwind wailing on
the kit. "The Third Door" has Feliciati going mano-a-mano with a
turntable wizard while "S.O.S." introduces a mellow vibraphone and an
intense guitarist. The swinging "Thief Like Me," features a strong
bass solo from Feliciati, who also anchors the proceedings on Moog bass. And
the haunting closer, "U Turn in Falmouth," has Feliciati interacting
on bass, guitars and keyboards. "The power to have these great musicians
ready to play on the songs forced me to be a more focused composer on this
project," said Feliciati. "So this one is less on the abstract/improvised
side. When you have so many amazing musicians ready to collaborate with you,
you are the luckiest person in the world but you must have a very clear idea of
what you will ask them to play on, what you want them to add to your
music."

Feliciati, who has worked with some of the great drummers
throughout his career, seemed especially pleased with the crew of time-keepers
he was able to recruit for Elevator Man. "I love drums and drummers and to
have such great players on this album as Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson,
Stickmen), Chad Wackerman, Roberto Gualdi (PFM), Davide Pettirossi, Armando
Croce, Gianluca Palmieri (Greg Howe Band) and the young star Davide Savarese is
such a wonderful privilege. To compose some music and have so many choices in
front of you is wonderful. And to realize that everyone involved is
enthusiastic and willing to collaborate is truly fantastic."

He also heaped high praise on the two sensational guitarists
who appear on Elevator Man. "Marco Sfogli is a great friend of mine and we
played together several times," explains Feliciati. "I played on his
latest solo album. Mattias Ecklundh did a masterclass at the school where I was
teaching in Rome. I asked to do some music together and he enthusiastically
agreed. I was happy when he agreed to play on this record."

Returning from KOI is the three-piece horn section of
trombonist Pierluigi Bastioli, baritone saxophonist Duiliu Ingress and bass
trombonist Stan Adams, who also arranged and conducted the section. "The
idea for the horns came while working on KOI, where the same three-piece
section plays on several tracks," Feliciati explains. "I was
wondering about doubling the bass riffs with a horn section on that recording
but I immediately understood that a funky-jazzy section of trumpet/sax/trombone
would have been too conventional or traditional sounding. So I switched to this
low-end section consisting of bass trombone, trombone and baritone sax, and the
final result was so good I immediately decided to use them on some of the songs
of Elevator Man."

The bassist-composer-arranger describes his daily creative
process that has led to the realization of such visionary projects as Frequent
Flyer, Koi and Elevator Man: "I love to wake up early in the morning, have
breakfast with family and then walk upstairs to my home studio and ask myself,
'What do you like to work on today?' I always had a home studio and the
technology related to recording (software like ProTools, etc.) became way less
expensive. This way I can work on different projects at the same time,
switching from one to another; not to mention all the sessions I do at home for
music that arrives via Dropbox from all over the world, People want me on their
music and with the files-exchange approach they can have my bass track on their
album easily and fast."

The great bassist also acknowledges the towering influence
of Jaco Pastorius on his own playing and on this recording, particularly on
"Elevator Man", "S.O.S." and "Black Book, Red
Letter." Says Feliciati of Jaco's influence: "For me you can easily
divide not only bass playing but also Jazz Rock Fusion in before Jaco/after
Jaco segments. The influence he had on my love for the bass and music is
endless. I saw Weather Report in 1980 in Rome on their Night Passage tour. That
night changed my life. I decided to play the bass after that because I realized
how much the instrument can drive a band and be the center of the sonic
spectrum. If the song, the music needed one note, Jaco was playing one
note...if the song needed one hundred he was playing the right ones the most
soulful ones and with such an incredible timing and groove. But I really love
Jaco the composer. And of all the wonderful tunes he wrote and played, the one
that is touching me the most is still 'John and Mary' from his Word of Mouth
album. Together with Night Passage and Joni Mitchell's Shadows and Light, these
are timeless classics.

That Pastorius influence is present throughout Elevator Man.
But Feliciati also carves out his own unique niche on this superb prog-rock
flavored outing.

For his follow-up to 2016's
purely improvised studio recording Strength & Power (featuring pianist
Jamie Saft, bassist Trevor Dunn and drummer Balazs Pandi), the ever-adventurous
trombonist-composer Roswell Rudd made a decided shift in direction on his first
RareNoiseRecords release as a leader by embracing jazz standards he has loved
and played throughout his long and illustrious career. Accompanied by the
brilliant pianist Lafayette Harris, upright bass virtuoso Ken Filiano and
soulful vocal sensation Fay Victor, the 81-year-old jazz master (who turns 82
years old on November 17, the day of the release) delivers with rare potency
and poignancy on the aptly-titled Embrace. This intimate, drum-less quartet session
is brimming with conversational playing between all the participants, with Rudd
and Victor partaking in some particularly interactive exchanges on jazz
classics like Billy Strayhorn's "Something to Live For," Charles
Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," Thelonious Monk's beautiful ballad
"Pannonica," the standard "Can't We Be Friends" and the
traditional "House of the Rising Sun."

Rudd has high praise for his empathetic partners on Embrace.
"Lafayette Harris is one of the best accompanists that I ever played with.
Boy, is he there! He's not only ahead of the music, he's in the moment and
behind it all at the same time. It's amazing to find somebody who can play like
that. It's as if Lafayette has been there all my life when I play with him.
Kenny Filiano is a virtuoso of the bass, particularly with the bow. Let the
world be told and shown! And Fay Victor is my most recent discovery. Fay is an
instrument, a voice, a personality, a spirit...all of those and more."

Of the members in this Embrace quartet, Rudd goes back
furthest with Filiano (the bassist appears on the trombonist's 2000 album Broad
Strokes as well as 2011's The Incredible Honk). Harris appeared on Rudd's 2008
album Keep Your Heart Right (which had a similar drum-less quartet
configuration featuring vocalist Sunny Kim) and also on The Incredible Honk.
Victor previously made a guest appearance on two tracks from 2013's Trombone
For Lovers.

"I like playing without drums occasionally and I've
done that a bit over the years," says Rudd. "I hear the harmonics of
the singers a lot better when the drums aren't there. I don't know, it just
seems to work better for me with voice and piano. Getting those interactions is
something that's very important to me, which I learned about from Sheila Jordan
and some other vocalists that I've been lucky enough to play with. I really
want to hear the whole harmonic series of the singers when I play with them.
And you know that's a very delicate and temperamental place to come from."

Rudd treads delicately on the tender opener, "Something
to Live For," a 1939 song, which marked the first collaboration between
Billy Strayhorn and Duke Ellington. Following a beautiful solo piano intro,
Rudd sings the melody through his horn in raucous yet poignant fashion, like
latter day Billie Holiday. Victor enters and the trombonist proceeds to shadow
and comment on her soulful singing through the remainder of the piece.

They inject a lively, almost calypso type bounce into
Mingus' "Goodbye Pork Pie Hat," a tune mostly played as a brooding,
funereal dirge. "That version came from playing it over and over when we
got together," says Rudd. "This is what eventually emerged."
Victor showcases her scatting prowess on this number before singing the Rahsaan
Roland Kirk lyrics, which the saxophonist had penned for his 1976 album The
Return of the 5000 Lb. Man. "Yeah, we got our own take on it,"
continues Rudd. "And that tune is so infectious it is bound to get to each
musical personality in its own way. And that's what we are. We're four musical
personalities who go together, whatever we're playing."

Victor channels her inner Betty Carter on a jaunty, swinging
rendition of "Can't We Be Friends," which features the vocalist in
some daring scat exchanges with Rudd's muted trombone. "I think Fay
started singing it one day and it just took over," Rudd recalls. That's
it. It was just right for us."

Their raucous rendition of Ray Noble's "I Hadn't Anyone
Till You" is bristling with energy and supported by Harris' Fats
Walleresque touch on piano. Rudd explains the origins of his collaboration with
Victor on this 1938 chestnut: "We wanted to do something together but we
really didn't know each other that well. And she finally said, 'Do you know, 'I
Hadn't Anyone Till You?' and I said, 'Yeah! And I hadn't been able to find
anybody to play that with. So let's do that one.' So that brought us together.
That got us started right there, doing that song. And we've kept that up."

Filiano's bowed bass intro to the lovely "Too Late
Now" (from the 1951 Fred Astaire-Jane Powell movie Royal Wedding)
showcases his low-end virtuosity while Victor reveals her romantic side in
interpreting the Alan Jay Lerner lyrics. Rudd, who contributes one of his most
lyrical solos of the session here, next testifies on his trombone on a chilling
rendition of "House of the Rising Sun," which also features Victor in
a most expressive Carmen McRae mode.

"I Look in the Mirror," a smart, swinging, Blossom
Dearie-styled ditty about accepting the aging process, was written by Rudd's
partner, Verna Gillis. "That was one of the first things we collaborated
on," says Rudd. "And I didn't feel it as a sultry ballad or a sad
song, I felt like a Dixielander on that one."

The album closes with a heartfelt reading of Monk's most
beautiful ballad, "Pannonica," a tune he composed in 1956 as a
tribute to jazz patron Baroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter. It's a tune that
Rudd has played countless times since 1962, when he formed a band with
saxophonist Steve Lacy that specialized in Monk's music. "I used to play
'Pannonica' a lot with Steve Lacy. We later recorded it together on an album we
did, called Monk's Dream (2000, Verve). So I was used to playing it in Monk's
original key, which is C. But Fay came in with it in A flat, so that threw me
off a little bit. Because everything lies so beautifully in that song and with
Monk's music in general that you tend to remember it where he wrote it, where
he played it. So that took a little adjustment." Victor gives a heartfelt
reading of Jon Hendricks' lyrics on this achingly beautiful ballad while Rudd
turns in a remarkably expressive solo on this Monk classic.

Embrace is the latest chapter in the extraordinary career of
the revered trombonist, who came up playing Dixieland in college before dipping
into the avant-garde in the early '60s with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Archie
Shepp, John Tchicai, Don Cherry and longtime collaborator Steve Lacy. In more
recent times, the ever-adventurous Rudd has collaborated with Malian musicians
(2001's MALIcool), traditional Mongolian musicians (2005's Blue Mongol) and
Latin musicians (2007's El Espiritu Jibaro). He gathered nine of the greatest
trombonists on the scene, along with the Gangue Brass Band of Benin, for 2009's
Trombone Tribe and in 2016 he debuted on RareNoiseRecords with the audacious
improvised outing Strength & Power. His latest for the label may be his
most inspired and affecting outing to date.

A tribute to the master trombonist is scheduled for November
16 and will be held at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club. Friends and
collaborators will celebrate this outstanding musician, who was diagnosed with
stage 4 cancer in 2013. Roswell is unable to play right now but hopes to be
strong enough to attend this glorious musical event. For further info, please
visit http://www.jazz.org/dizzys/

Nothing quite prepares you for the surprise of being granted
a wish you don't remember making. Consider the grebe.

Stumble upon a freshwater lake in spring and you might catch
the ritualistic mating dance of two swanlike birds engaged in a courtship of
responsive mimicry that begins with the tenderness of curled flirtatious necks
and ends with an exultant dance upon the surface of water. It transcends the
language we have as humans to describe it. You have to see it to believe it. If
you had known about it beforehand, you would have stood lakeside and wished for
it. Yet, somewhere, out in the wild, the wish you never made has already been
granted.

Such is the case with The Parable, the second full-length
release from the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. Recorded in a single session, on a
Wednesday this past June, at the historic Sunset Sound studio in Los Angeles, a
wish was granted while the rest of us were busy tending to the tiny details of
our daily lives.

Like unobserved nature, the Complex went about the important
business of filling that silent studio room without quite disturbing it. The
surprise of their own music-making is less like five individuals scribbling
down plans and executing them with rehearsed precision and more like the kind
of swan-courtship described above. We're hearing it for the first time. And so
are they.

"What you hear on the record is literally the first or
second attempt at playing these compositions in the room," says drummer
Jimmy Chamberlin. "We just got into a room, sketched out the tunes, maybe
jotted down an arrangement or two. Then, we were off to the races. We didn't
want to get into forcing it too much. We wanted it to evolve in its own
footprint. It freaks people out, but for me, I'm a big believer -- not in an
irresponsible way -- in the idea of just letting things happen."

"It's about sharing the experience, as it happens,
together," echoes Billy Mohler, bassist and producer. "This was the
warmest, most inviting session. It was about holding up someone's strengths and
figuring out how to strengthen a group from inside of it. You don't even think
about it. You just get with the right people and it's about how we can make the
best music together. It's a band. It's not a project."

These sentiments of humility drop away and the full force of
a revelation hits along with the first strike of the snare drum on opener
"Horus and the Pharaoh." There's something spider-like and ghostly
about the guitar performance of Sean Woolstenhulme -- the very first sound you
hear on The Parable -- whom both Mohler and Chamberlin give credit for the
courage of joining this quintet in the first place.

"Sean's never played a jazz gig in his life," says
Mohler. "Randy Ingram and Chris Speed are very modern players with firm
roots in traditional jazz who have established their own place in the
contemporary jazz world. Sean is not from that world at all. So, of course, we
thought, 'What would Sean sound like in this traditional setting?'"

Anyone who has ever heard an early Smashing Pumpkins record
will immediately recognize the snare rolls and syncopated hi-hat accents that
have come to define just a part Chamberlin's "style," for whatever
that word might be worth. But in the context of The Parable, you begin to
realize he is the outlier in a rock setting, not the other way around.

"My sensibility as a musician was rooted around the
music that I grew up with," says Chamberlin. "Being the youngest of
six kids and having five brothers and sisters that were super big music fans,
that could be anything from the Turtles and the Beach Boys to Steely Dan,
Rickie Lee Jones, Joni Mitchell, all the way down to McCoy Tyner, Mose Allison,
and Count Basie. My dad was a clarinet player, so we listened to a lot of Duke
Ellington and Benny Goodman when I was a kid.

"Jazz really allows you to paint in real time," he
continues. "The medium of jazz, to me, is the ultimate vehicle of
self-expression for a musician. It allows you to create in the moment. Jazz is
the music where it can only take five minutes to create five minutes of music.
That's a much more honest place for me to live as a musician. You're painting
first drafts and being OK with them. If you want to do something different,
it's fine to release what you've done, just do more, and keep going."

Mohler is in complete agreement. He's already eager to get
back into the studio and make three more Complex records this year. Which makes
sense. If forced to find the center in this collaborative, undefined
spontaneous burst of human expression by way of jazz, it's Mohler's bass
performance.

The undeniable humanness of The Parable is on display with
every note played -- a comfort itself in a world increasingly barreling toward
the synthetic and digitized -- but it's that sound of standup bass, the strings
and the wood and the hand that crawls across the fingerboard. That's what's
real. That's the lesson. If a parable is meant to leave us with something
useful, it's just that -- in 2017, you can call it jazz music, but it's really
just the act of living translated into melody.

"There was very little talking," says Chamberlin
about the session. "Words weren't necessary, because the conversation that
was going on was so much deeper than anything you could say."

The Parable comes to a close, collapsing into a disappearing
echo, with everything that came before it condensed into a singular vibration
on the very last note of the very last track "Dance of the Grebe."
Chamberlin might dismiss the song's title as evidence that he's just a
self-confessed "bird freak," but let's not listen to him. Nothing is
an accident, especially in art.

"The dance of the grebe is cool, right? If you've ever
seen it, you would never forget it. It's like, 'What the hell is that bird
doing, man?'"

From 1968 to
1978, Blue Thumb Records was one of music's most adventurous and imaginative
record labels, with a far-ranging roster of cutting-edge acts and an
unconventional visual sensibility. Nurturing an eclectic assortment of artists
from a wide variety of genres, Blue Thumb embodied the restless creative spirit
of the era in which it was born, reflecting the emerging attitude that albums
were worthy of being taken seriously as artistic statements.

Long out-of-print collection "All Day Thumbsucker
Revisited," documenting the history of Tommy LiPuma and Bob Krasnow's
legendary Blue Thumb Records, is now available as a 2CD set. Label will
celebrate 50th anniversary next year.

Long out-of-print collection "All Day Thumbsucker
Revisited," documenting the history of Tommy LiPuma and Bob Krasnow's
legendary Blue Thumb Records, is now available as a 2CD set. Label will
celebrate 50th anniversary next year.

Blue Thumb's expansive musical vision was anthologized on
the 1995 label retrospective All Day Thumbsucker Revisited. Today, October 27,
Verve Records/UMe is releasing the long-out-of-print collection, originally
compiled by Gary Katz, known for his work with Steely Dan, in an updated two-CD
edition on the eve of next year's 50th anniversary of Blue Thumb's founding.
The first in a projected series of releases to celebrate the revered label, the
CD set offers 32 vintage tracks spread across two discs, while the digital
edition, due November 10, marks the first time this collection will be
available as a digital download and for streaming. In showcasing Blue Thumb's
influential artist roster, the album also honors the iconoclastic musical
vision of late label founders Bob Krasnow, who died on December 11, 2016, and
Tommy LiPuma, who passed away on March 13, 2017.

Danny Bennett, President & CEO of Verve Label Group
comments, "With the release of All Day Thumbsucker Revisited, we are so
proud to honor Tommy LiPuma and Bob Krasnow by celebrating their Blue Thumb
Records legacy and the incredible music they curated, all of which is well represented
on this must-have collection."

Along with 30 tracks from the original album, the 2017
edition of All Day Thumbsucker Revisited features two additional tracks by
Buddy Guy and the Pointer Sisters. In addition to the above-mentioned artists,
the album also includes a track by veteran pianist-journalist Ben Sidran, who
also provided the original album's liner notes, which are reproduced here in
their entirety.

Bob Krasnow had already been president of the King and
Buddah/Kama Sutra labels when he formed Blue Thumb Records in 1968. Recruiting
like-minded A&M Records producer Tommy LiPuma and A&M marketing
executive Don Graham, Krasnow set out to build a record label that would
reflect his own freewheeling sensibility as well as the increasing influence of
album-oriented radio.

As Joe Sample of the Crusaders observed, "LiPuma and
Krasnow were young and vibrant men with a tremendous love of music. And they
also had the expertise to back up that love. And they started signing all kinds
of bands. It was the new image in music, and I think it was the best kind of
image that we ever had in the music business.

"There was a sense in the air of a lot of
adventure," Sample notes. "The music business was making big, major
changes; the newfound FM airwaves meant there was suddenly a whole new branch
of radio stations that played music that would never be played on an AM
station. Blue Thumb was one of the first companies that realized this new set
of airwaves was important for music."

Commenting on Blue Thumb's early days, Sidran recalled,
"They were running it, literally, out of three rooms. And they were making
records that were consciously counter to what was going on. And nobody had done
that... Krasnow was going out of his way to do something different."

That "something different" can be heard throughout
All Day Thumbsucker Revisited, whose vintage grooves affirm the timeless
brilliance of Blue Thumb's enduring musical vision.

ALL DAY THUMBSUCKER REVISITED TRACK LISTING

Disc One

1. Only You Know and
I Know - Dave Mason

2. The City -
Mark-Almond

3. Put It Where You
Want It - The Crusaders

4. A Song For You -
Leon Russell

5. Stimela
(Coaltrain) - Hugh Masekela

6. By The Light Of
Magical Moon - Tyrannosaurus Rex

7. Yes We Can Can -
The Pointer Sisters

8. Darkness Darkness
- Philip Upchurch

9. Son Of Mirror Man
– Mere Man - Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band

"I never really know what song is going to come
next...thankfully it just comes to me," confides chart-topping
saxophonist, composer and producer Euge Groove, who has scored close to a dozen
#1 hits on the Contemporary Jazz Charts. A favorite on radio and the
international touring circuit, Euge Groove has garnered a devout following with
his irresistible mix of danceable grooves, mind-bending hooks, R&B infused
melodies and inspired solos. Having collaborated with everyone from Tina Turner
Elton John and Bonnie Raitt to Tower of Power and Aaron Neville, Euge Groove is
never short on inspiration.On November
17, 2017, Shanachie Entertainment will release Euge Groove's anticipated
eleventh solo recording, Groove On, an exhilarating collection of originals.
Euge's latest drives home the multi-instrumentalist's ability to mastermind the
perfect mood-drenched set filled with top drawer performances featuring first
rate musicians including special guests - guitar wizard Peter White and
soul-jazz diva/label mate Lindsey Webster. "I hope my fans hear growth.
That is most important to me," shares Euge Groove. "I think if I stop
growing as a writer, player, or producer, it's time to quit. I put every drop
of heart and soul into each album."

Groove On opens with the enticing, jubilant and free-flowing
"Sonnet XI" showcasing Euge Groove's pristine and soaring soprano
saxophone lines. Euge also mixes it up on the Hammond B3 (which he does on
several tracks). "I actually started playing B3 back in the 90s while on
tour with Joe Cocker. I love the sound of the B3. I have a great old B3 at my
studio that was a gift from my dad some years ago and I love to use it when I
can. I leave the heavy lifting to the experts though. Tim Heinz did a great job
on numerous tracks this album." In addition to Heinz, Euge Groove has
culled together an A-list cast on Groove On featuring guitarists Peter White
and Jabu Smith, vocalist Lindsey Webster, keyboardist Tracy Carter, bassist
Cornelius Mims, drummers Trevor Lawrence, Jr. and Dan Needham, percussionist
Lenny Castro and string programmers/arrangers Phillipe Saisse and Austin Creek.

A highlight on Groove On is the energized, pulsating and
scintillating title track and album's first single, which features Euge on
flute and keyboard. "I'm always nervous until I can get that title cut
down" confesses the multi-instrumentalist. "It has to be funky and
unique for me, but not going too far as to people saying WTH? Once 'Groove On'
was written I was like "Yes, I can do this!" Euge also features a
high-octane reprise of the single at the end of recording. The serene and blues-tinged "Free Time"
brims with delight as Euge's effervescent soprano leads the way, while the
melancholy and pensive "The Healing," is a gorgeous ballad that
showcases Euge's stirring tenor alongside the percussive and string magic of
Lenny Castro and Phillipe Saisse. Euge explains that the origins of his compositions
are fueled by real life experiences. "'The Healing' is a song that came
from something I experienced recently. I suffer from anxiety from time to time,
and it really reared its ugly head earlier this year. I just miss home so much
sometimes on the road that things can get very dark. Mental health is no joke.
I am very blessed to have some great professionals to help me make sense of it
all and get through those periods. "The Healing" was all about that
for me." Euge's beautiful ballad will likely bring peace and healing to
many who are blessed to hear his heartfelt offering.

Groove On also features the euphoric and swooning
"Round And Round." Euge's signature layering of parts sculpt a
magnificent sound collage. The rapturous "Euge One - Oh- One"
underscores Euge's penchant for writing sublime melodies and highlights the
nylon string guitar of Peter White. "Peter is just my buddy of buddies and
I have to have him guest somewhere!" shares Euge who also drops the news
that his next project will be a duo album with White. Euge brings the house
down with the down home bluesy and soul-drenched number "Last Call."
Euge is no doubt testifying as his gorgeous tenor lines and interplay with
guitarist Jabu Smith almost stop you in your tracks. "Saturday Afternoon"
makes you want to jump to your feet with its cool and swingin' 'steppers vibe'
while the tender ballad "Always Love You" offers the album's lone
vocal. "Lindsey Webster and I met on New Year's Eve in Germany last
year," states Euge Groove. "She has such a great voice and writing
style and I kept that in my mind for this project. Lindsey wrote killer lyrics
and it all came together quite smoothly."

Euge Groove's musical sensibilities are hard-won. Born
Steven Eugene Grove in Hagerstown, Maryland, he grew up in a musical home. His
mother played piano and taught the church choir and Euge began his musical
pursuits at the age of seven, beginning with piano and adding saxophone at
nine. Two saxophonists had a profound effect on his approach to playing.
"One was French classical player Marcel Mule, who really defied what the
sax was supposed to sound like for me and the other was David Sanborn, who took
that sound and brought it into the mainstream world," Euge reminisces.
Through the years, Euge's love of Jazz, R&B, Gospel and Blues have all come
together to inform his personalized sound.
He explains, "I've listened to everyone from Grover (Washington, Jr.)
and Sanborn to (Charlie) Parker and Coltrane, as well as (Michael) Brecker,
(Stan) Getz, King Curtis, Jr. Walker, Richard Elliot and Kirk Whalum. The more
mature we become the more those influences fuse into something new. A graduate
of Miami's School Of Music, Euge launched his professional career in Miami in
the mid-80s, playing in salsa bands, Top 40 club bands and doing the occasional
high-profile session date like Expose's "Seasons Change," a #1
Billboard AC hit. In 1987 he moved to L.A., wrote a track for Richard Elliot's
The Power of Suggestion and Elliot recommended Euge to take over his spot in
Tower of Power. Euge toured with TOP for four years, including a year backing
Huey Lewis & The News. He went on to record, tour or perform with the likes
of Joe Cocker, The Eurythmics, The Gap Band, Elton John, Bonnie Raitt, Aaron
Neville and Richard Marx (that's Euge's horn on "Keep Coming Back," a
#1 AC hit duet he recorded with Luther Vandross). In 1999, Euge started
recording his own material, dubbing himself Euge Groove, and posting his music
on the now-defunct MP3.com website; downloading started almost immediately and
Euge was soon topping the MP3.com Jazz chart.
He signed soon thereafter with Warner Bros. "Vinyl," his first
single from his eponymous Warner Bros. debut, set a record by spending 27 weeks
on the R&R charts, eventually ranking #24 for the year. In 2004, Euge
Grooves' Narada debut, Livin' Large, spent 68 weeks on the Billboard charts.
The title track was the #5 most played song for 2004 on the R&R singles
chart. Just Feels Right followed in 2005 and its first single was #1 for two
months. There followed in the next decade a string of hit singles and
best-selling albums; his hit "Religify" was 'song of the year' in
2007, and his albums S7ven Large and House Of Groove each spawned #1 hits. Got
2 Be Groovin' came in 2014 and 2016 saw the release of Still Euge, which
featured the hit title track as well as memorable vocal appearances from Oleta
Adams and Rahsaan Patterson.

Euge Groove further asserts himself as a vital force in the
continuum of Contemporary Jazz and promises he has no intentions other than to
Groove On! "I've really not known anything else. It's been such an amazing
run for the last 30 plus years. From the amazing people I've toured in support
of to being able to do my own thing, sometimes I'll reflect and just say
"wow!" The places I've been and the people I've met..it's like a real
life fairy tale at times."